10 Years of Skwama with Matthew Domm

2014-2016 A Different Time

My first job was at a summer camp. I was in high school, and I worked at this day camp in a city in Southern Ontario. It was my first real job, and it had all the characteristics that made it real, like pay checks, tax deductions, employers, so on and so forth. But that summer, in 2014, it set me off on 2 major trajectories. The first one was my career path, as I have continued to work with kids over different roles ever since that summer. But the second, and arguably more important trajectory, resulted from spending my first pay check the day I got it. I was 16 years old, and I got this piece of paper representing a marginal amount of money, but considering my age I felt like I was freakin’ Bezos. I remember my Dad had to drive me, and we went to the bank then straight to the local outdoor store in one fell swoop. Over the course of the day, I went from having no net value completely to also having no net value but wielding a pair of La Sportiva Jekyll VS climbing shoes.

This was my second day outdoor climbing. Jacob was on belay and Graham was taking the picture while yelling at me to move my foot out of the way of the rope. Oct 2016

The following year, laid the groundwork for a teenage dirtbag to never grow up. I was a punk in grade 10, climbing at the local grungy gym with my friends Graham and Jacob. They were a lot older than me, but they were hands down the strongest climbers, and the best role models, that I knew. I was also a huge fan of Dean Potter, as I held back an urge to ditch the east and live in a van in Yosemite. From that time I also remember, I would take the leftover lunch change in my backpack and pay a $15 climbing pass all in quarters and dimes. For entertainment, I would watch Valley Uprising at least once a month and my favorite book was Beyond the Mountain by Steve House.

Throughout my high school career, I was distracted in class by climbing. I can even recall watching the live stream of Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson, topping out the Dawn Wall from under my desk in law class. In grade 12, I got a good grade for writing an English essay on the value of partners in climbing. But in November of 2016, I remember being in class on a computer with eyes glued on the newest La Sportiva Climbing shoe; the Skwama. It wouldn’t leave my undeveloped brain as I wanted this shoe badly. It was a high performing shoe that was more affordable than the Solution with the marble rand, but also had a slipper like design and velcro closure. I was such a sucker for marketing and I still definitely am. Inevitably, this turns out to be tremendously problematic in the modern era of algorithms and curated feeds. Anyways, I remember when my mom caught on to my obsession, she generously gifted the first edition of Skwamas to me. This was a huge star struck moment for me, like meeting a legend. Despite its material insignificance, this moment spun me into a new era of pushing myself in climbing.

I took pictures of all my shoes when they were fresh as I would wear them until they burnt out. This was day 1 with the Skwamas. Dec 2016

2017-2019 Send ‘er Die

Eventually I went on to graduate high school and I picked up a job at the local kids’ climbing gym. The regular climbing gym was right next door and I would train there after my shifts religiously in my Skwamas. It was definitely a highlight in my life, from all the friends I made and the community we had. Whenever I would walk through the gym doors I would know most people by name and if I didn’t then I would be sure to make a new friend before I left. I continued to climb even more with Graham and Jacob while we lifted each other up, shared training strategies, endless belays, and general stoke. Over one winter training season, I was able to earn the sarcastically dubious achievement of “I climb 5.12 in the gym” while working on relatively hard on boulder projects.

When I knew my gym project would come together Jacob climbed up to get the video while Graham belayed. The quality of this helps me appreciate modern cell phone cameras more. Apr 2018

The accumulated strength through the winter would blossom into outdoor trips in the summer, as we went out and hit up the various sport climbing crags in the area. Though as this season came to an end, I was nearing a hole in the toes of my Skwamas and I expanded their lifespan by getting them resoled. I thought this would preserve the dream, but by the end of 2019 my sights had to be redirected.

Graham caught this picture while climbing on a different route as this arete was situated in a gully. I remember Jacob was on belay laughing at me struggle on TR. Good times. Sep 2017

2020-2022 A Different Direction

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, I dropped climbing almost entirely. Navigating lockdowns, gym closures, and no more social activity led to me trying to navigate more methods to recreate independently. I began to trail run more, as a method to explore more of my usual hikes in a day. I also took up gravel cycling, as what seemed like everyone and their dog did in that day. In order to subside my urges to explore, I made an attempt to sleep the most nights I could outside through human-supported travel. I ultimately accumulated a personal record of around 25 nights in 2021. My life was moving on, but climbing was drifting away like smoke passing by. One day in that era, I jumped at the call from Graham to go climbing. At that point, if felt like such a long time since we got together and I really did miss his company. On the night before the trip, I reached into my climbing bag to grab my Skwamas but they were not there. The sentimental value of those shoes were heavily associated with a time when my community of friends were close. The feeling of loss was weighing on me, as living a life without having my climbing shoes close by meant that I was lonelier than I thought. I hastily dug through my closet, but it turns out I just had to reach for them with a little more effort. That day meant a lot to me, as I had felt that everyone felt so far out of my life. Though as it turns out, I also just had to reach out to my people with a little more effort.

Even though I live in the mountains now I will always miss the blue waters, limestone and cedar trees of Ontario. Graham took this on our spontaneous trip to Lions Head. Sep 2020

2023-2025 Don’t Stop ‘Till You Drop

As I moved on in life, I decided that I would stick to running and cycling. Currently I live in Golden B.C., where I still train as an ultra runner and cyclist, but I like to throw climbing in the mix every now and then. It’s an incredible feeling to throw running or climbing shoes on the bike and go off on these multiport adventures.

Ultra Running is such a fantastic sport. Behind the camera was my whole family cheering me on as I walked in my 2nd Western states lottery ticket. Photo: Julia Maier May 2025

I have built up three bikes but my favorite has to be my Crust Bombora. Between the bike and being with La Sportiva you can see how heavily inspired I am by Anton Krupicka. Sep 2024

One of my multiport days where I packed my climbing gear on the bike. Golden, BC. May 2025

Myself from 10 years ago would probably be so confused, but still psyched. When I do my strength training, I will go to the climbing gym, I’ll do my circuit, and then pull out the same old pair of resoled Skwamas from 10 years ago. I’ll get hung up on the good times in the past as I would think about closing down the gym with my friends at 11:30pm on a school night, getting beta from Graham and Jacob, and where everyone might be on their own separate ways. As I am writing this piece, I just opened a box in the mail containing the 10 year Anniversary Skwamas. This is a celebration of an era for climbers, 10 years of hard sends, and hard times, with great friends, and great accomplishments. It is unrealistic to simplify such a matter of sincerity and nostalgia to a material shoe. But, in consideration of the grotesque weight these shoes have on my own life got me thinking of another way to commemorate such a fine occasion. Dare I say, if this shoe means nothing to you, then a fine way to celebrate would be to call a friend, share some belays, give your partner a hug, and tell them how important they are to you. You never know what this new era will bring.

The old meets the new. November 2025